js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag) (03/06/85)
Well, here it is, folks. What you're all been waiting for...
The results of the 1985 net handedness survey! I didn't receive any
new responses today, so I decided it was about time to tally the
results and post this note.
Total number of respondents: 49
Lefties: 21 ==> 43%
Righties: 26 ==> 53%
Ambies: 2 ==> 4%
As I mentioned before, I didn't include anyone who only posted their
responses to the net, and I didn't include anyone's family, although
a few people thought it necessary to tell me the handedness of everyone
they knew. I also ignored the person who told me that someone else was
wrong about their own handedness.
Four people responded with the numbers for % of lefthanders in the
general population. These were: 17%, 15%, 10%, and 8%. Whichever way
you slice it, it's clear that the people who responded to the survey have
a lot more lefties than the average.
What can we conclude from this? Well, either we have a lot more
lefties on the net than elsewhere, *OR* righties on the net are not as
likely to respond to handedness surveys than lefties. (You can't blame
them for being slightly ashamed to be right-handed.) More likely, some
combination of both of these factors.
Someone mentioned that there are *no* lefties in the USSR. (presumably
because lefties are purposely driven out of their right minds by prejudiced
elementary school teachers.) If this is true, it's not too suprising,
since it was only a decade or so ago that our own educators became convinced
that left-handedness might not be a sign of eeville.
In case anyone hasn't guessed yet, I myself am one of the few, the proud,
the lefties. Well, thanks for all of the responses, everyone. Even you
righties.
--
Jeff Sonntag
ihnp4!mhuxt!js2j
"That little red hen said to that little red rooster:
You don't come 'round no more, like you used to." - Taj Mahalcrm@duke.UUCP (Charlie Martin) (03/07/85)
In article <649@mhuxt.UUCP> js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag) writes: > > ... Whichever way >you slice it, it's clear that the people who responded to the survey have >a lot more lefties than the average. > What can we conclude from this? ... I think its some sort of sinister plot. > Someone mentioned that there are *no* lefties in the USSR. (presumably >because lefties are purposely driven out of their right minds by prejudiced >elementary school teachers.) If this is true, it's not too suprising, >since it was only a decade or so ago that our own educators became convinced >that left-handedness might not be a sign of eeville. ... Actually, I was converted by a Hungarian great-grandmother who was pretty certain of this, so it may be an eastern European trait rather than limited to the USSR. ... the result was to leave me ambisinistral -- equally clumsy with both hands. -- Opinions stated here. Charlie Martin (...mcnc!duke!crm)
ndiamond@watdaisy.UUCP (Norman Diamond) (03/07/85)
Excerpted from net.misc: > Someone mentioned that there are *no* lefties in the USSR. (presumably > because lefties are purposely driven out of their right minds by prejudiced > elementary school teachers.) If this is true, it's not too suprising, > since it was only a decade or so ago that our own educators became convinced > that left-handedness might not be a sign of eeville. > -- Jeff Sonntag No, no! There are no left HANDS in the Soviet Union. Just left WINGS!! -- Norman Diamond UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra}!watmath!watdaisy!ndiamond CSNET: ndiamond%watdaisy@waterloo.csnet ARPA: ndiamond%watdaisy%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa "Opinions are those of the keyboard, and do not reflect on me or higher-ups."
lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (03/08/85)
The skewed results of your survery are probably due to one particular factor you mentioned. That is, like with any other survey on the net, most people ignored it (I never even saw the original survey message). In this sort of situation, the lefties (who feel downtrodden and want to prove they exist) are much more likely than the righties to respond to the survey. I'd wager that an overwhelming percentage of the lefties who saw the message responded (they wanted to be counted) but that only a relatively few righties bothered to respond. --Lauren--
bob@vaxwaller.UUCP (Bob Palin) (03/08/85)
I remember discussing left/right handedness with some sort of expert a few
years ago in a bar ( I don't think he was just a bar expert ! ), anyway
the percentage of lefties is between 7 and 8 % and is the same over all
races throughout the world, don't know about other planets though.
The interesting thing this guy said was that animals too had right/left
tendancies and the proportion was the same as humans, I suppose this make
sense in some physiological way. This probably only applies to mammals
I would think - does anybody have any ideas ? I believe that the right/left
handedness of the animals was tested by there eye preference but I'm not
sure that is correct - does eye preference relate to manual preference.
Another thing I read somewhere said that some people are right handed
but left footed and judging by the soccer players I know this seems to
be true. The article said that these people had considerably more trouble
learning during childhood though I don't see any correlation myself.
A right hander myself but ambifootstrous due to a broken right foot once
upon a time.
Bob Palin, Varian Instruments, Walnut Creek, Ca. {amd|zehntel}!varian!bobmark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) (03/10/85)
I think it's pretty clear that the survey was skewed because it was not random. However, I recall reading somewhere that lefties, having been shut off by society, tend to become interested in Engineering. As a result, of a given group of engineers, a higher percentage will be left handed than in the rest of the world. The number that sticks in my mind is that 25% of engineers are left handed, but I'm not sure about this.
laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton) (03/11/85)
I went to the Ontario Science Centre (hello oscvax!) over the weekend, and picked up Vol 10 #1 of the Ontario Science Centre handout (Newscience). The font page is dedicated to handedness. According to it 50% of animals are right pawed, and 50% left pawed. Unlike humans they are evenly divided in their preferences. This seems to be true of gorrillas and chimpanzees as well. Since Stone Age Tools of ~5000 BC are either usuable by either hand, or divided 50/50 for use by either hand, but by the time of the Bronze Age (3000-1000 BC) tools were predominately made for the right hand, some researchers have concluded that tool makers have forced the tribe to become right handed to use their tools. The argument does not appear to wash, since the change in distribution seems to occurr in every prehistoric society. A global conspiracy of tool makers seems unlikely. Certain tests seem to indicate that you either have a gene for right handedness, or you are neutral. Right handedness is dominant. The neutrals seem to spilt 50/50 into being left or right handed. Laura Creighton utzoo!laura
bill@persci.UUCP (03/12/85)
Somebody said that handedness (as in left vs. right) is equivalent to 'eyedness' (eye preference). This is not true. I am (true confession) predominantly right-handed but left-eyed. This means I shoot bows left-handed, write right-handed, and have a terrible time with rifles. Ever try to sight with your left eye with the stock on your right shoulder?
ndiamond@watdaisy.UUCP (Norman Diamond) (03/12/85)
> Stone Age Tools of ~5000 BC are either usuable by either > hand, or divided 50/50 for use by either hand, but by the time of > the Bronze Age (3000-1000 BC) tools were predominately made > for the right hand.... > A global conspiracy of tool makers seems unlikely. > -- Laura Creighton Wars were a little more global, as they occured between tribes. One could initially choose either hand for a sword and the other hand for a shield, but perhaps it made a difference if one's choices matched the opponent's choices. The Stone Age would not have had swords, and the Bronze Age would have had them, n'est-ce pas? Also, as wars were less global in those days than now, and provided for slower communication, it seems reasonable that it took 2000 years for the genetic tendency to become more global. (That's about the same length of time it takes Canada Post to get a message.) Anyone know the handedness of native Tahitians and other races that were insulated from the rest of the world until (relatively) recently? -- Norman Diamond UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra}!watmath!watdaisy!ndiamond CSNET: ndiamond%watdaisy@waterloo.csnet ARPA: ndiamond%watdaisy%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa "Opinions are those of the keyboard, and do not reflect on me or higher-ups."
hav@dual.UUCP (Helen Anne Vigneau) (03/12/85)
<*munch*>
=> The interesting thing this guy said was that animals too had right/left
=> tendancies and the proportion was the same as humans, I suppose this make
=> sense in some physiological way. This probably only applies to mammals
=> I would think - does anybody have any ideas ?
=>
=> . . .
=>
=> Bob Palin, Varian Instruments, Walnut Creek, Ca. {amd|zehntel}!varian!bob
All the fish in our house are left-handed. :-)
Helen Anne
{ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs,decwrl,unisoft,fortune,sun,nsc}!dual!hav
If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music he hears,
however measured or far away.techpub@mhuxt.UUCP (mcgrew) (03/13/85)
> <*munch*> > > => The interesting thing this guy said was that animals too had right/left > => tendancies and the proportion was the same as humans, I suppose this make > => sense in some physiological way. This probably only applies to mammals > => I would think - does anybody have any ideas ? > => > => . . . > => > => Bob Palin, Varian Instruments, Walnut Creek, Ca. {amd|zehntel}!varian!bob > > All the fish in our house are left-handed. :-) > > Helen Anne > > {ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs,decwrl,unisoft,fortune,sun,nsc}!dual!hav > > If a man does not keep pace with his companions, > perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. > Let him step to the music he hears, > however measured or far away. *** WARNING WARNING ... DANGER WILL ROBINSON *** Both of my parakeets are right-winged. :-) Flyin saucers, levitation..... yo I can do that get ready for heavy duty...go on give it a chance...
mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) (03/14/85)
In article <224@vaxwaller.UUCP> bob@vaxwaller.UUCP (Bob Palin) writes: >I believe that the right/left >handedness of the animals was tested by there eye preference but I'm not >sure that is correct - does eye preference relate to manual preference. I am right handed, but left eyed. This means that when I look through a camera lens, telescope, peephole, etc, I use my left eye. I don't know if this is a strong physical preference or just a habit I developed from childhood by random choice. (I also am left eared, meaning that I am very uncomfortable using my right ear on the phone. This is probably even more meaningless.) I have no idea if I'm right or left footed. As the newscaster said: "Meaningless statistics were up 3% last week." Mark
bill@persci.UUCP (03/14/85)
> All the fish in our house are left-handed. :-) > Helen Anne > {ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs,decwrl,unisoft,fortune,sun,nsc}!dual!hav Too bad. They taste better without! :-( :-) -- 'Old Bagpipers never die, they just blow away...'
laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton) (03/14/85)
The isolated peoples seem to have discovered Bronze and become primarily right handed at the same time. I don't know whether neolithic tribes that exist today are also not predominantly right handed. Laura Creighton utzoo!laura
long@ittvax.UUCP (H. Morrow Long [Systems Center]) (03/16/85)
The survey results were skewed because south-paw touch typists
using readnews/vnews can reach the 'r' (and 'f') key easier.
Of course vi, snake, rogue and hack all favor the right handed
typist - 'h','j','k','l'.
--
H. Morrow Long
ITT-ATC Systems Center,
1 Research Drive Shelton, CT 06484
Phone #: (203)-929-7341 x. 634
path = {allegra bunker ctcgrafx dcdvaxb dcdwest ucbvax!decvax duke eosp1
ittral lbl-csam milford mit-eddie psuvax1 purdue qubix qumix
research sii supai tmmnet twg uf-cgrl wxlvax yale}!ittvax!longmupmalis@watarts.UUCP (mike upmalis) (03/16/85)
> > Certain tests seem to indicate that you either have a gene for > right handedness, or you are neutral. Right handedness is dominant. > The neutrals seem to spilt 50/50 into being left or right handed. > > Laura Creighton > utzoo!laura One of the more intreresting points that has not been really raised in this discussion or at least no applied is that hand use does not exist as a dichotomy in the population. People exhibit preference in their hand use and you notice a bimodal distribution in the population on preference. Dr. Phil Bryden at the University of Waterloo has read and written extensively on lateralization of function in the human brain. A bit of digression first. What is known about speech in humans is that in 90%+ of the population language is in the right hemisphere. A small number have it both hemispheres and the balance have it in the right hemisphere. Now the fun part, researchers into speech thought that the hemisphere that language is in can be co-related with hand use. The idea is that lefties are mirror image of righties and people with no hand preference might reflect a low level of lateralization. While the numbers follow this idea it is only a trend and not of predictive or modeling value. The next step was to measure actual hand use. Next time you eat dinner watch what peolpe do with the fork and knife. Do they switch the fork to the right hand after sawing away with their knife? When you brush your teeth do you switch hands, do you pitch a ball with your right hand and bat from the left side of the plate? While people look at writing as an indicator of handedness, there are a number of other indicators. The author above refers to Annet's model of hand use. One of the problems is that it cannot predict why men and females different on hand preference by extremity. Males tend to be more extreme on hand use while females tend to be closer while still being bimodally distributed. For those who are interested I would refer to a book by Phil Bryden on Cerebral Lateralization. -- ~~ Mike Upmalis (mupmalis@watarts)<University of Waterloo>
gam@amdahl.UUCP (G A Moffett) (03/17/85)
> > <*munch*> > > > > => The interesting thing this guy said was that animals too had right/left > > => tendancies and the proportion was the same as humans, I suppose this make > > => sense in some physiological way. This probably only applies to mammals > > => I would think - does anybody have any ideas ? "this guy" is wrong. Non-human animals as a whole and within species have an even distribution of "handedness", if there is any preference at all (they usually don't have a preferred side). I again point readers interested in this topic to seek out the book "Lefties: The Origins and Consequences of Lefthandedness", by Jack Fincher (Perigee Books, 1977). It has a wealth of information on the subject of handedness (far better than the laymen explanations and surveys on this network have provided). -- Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,sun}!amdahl!gam
msb@lsuc.UUCP (Mark Brader) (03/18/85)
> The next step was to measure actual hand use. Next time > you eat dinner watch what people do with the fork and knife. Do they > switch the fork to the right hand after sawing away with their knife? This test is contaminated by cultural background. The hand switch is (said to be) much less common among British than American people, for instance, because of following parental example in each case. Mark Brader
laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton) (03/18/85)
I learned to eat in England, 'cause that's where we were living at the time. No English nanny worth her salt is going to let you keep switching hands like that! This is called *rude*. If there is anybody out there who is in high school, or who otherwise has a lot of time on their hands (if you are in high school and think you are busy now, wait until you see university!) learn how to write with your opposite hand. It takes a lot of work. However, you will bless the days when you stop writing with an aching hand to start up with another one on a particularily long exam... It also freaks out people in very interesting ways. I know someone who was capable of writing english prose with one hand and IBM assembler programs with the other, simultaneously. The programs worked, too. This impressed the hell out of me, but I could never duplicate it, despite working at it for a while. He claimed to always be able to do this. It was interesting that his handwriting was also significantly different depending on what hand he was using. Mine is much the same, though I drift into mirror writing with my left hand fairly frequently. Laura Creighton utzoo!laura
kenw@druid.UUCP (WeinertKD) (03/18/85)
I have always had a problem with golf and baseball because I
{swing|bat} like a right-hander, but hold the {club|bat} like a
left-hander. I find it very uncomfortable to hold on the "correct"
way. Is this an unusuall occurance? The people that notice it seem
to think so.
Ken Weinert RM 30J86 11900 N. Pecos St. Denver, CO 80234
(303) 538-1079 drutx!druid!kenwherbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong [DCS]) (03/19/85)
In article <5279@utzoo.UUCP> laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton) writes: >I know someone who was capable of writing english prose with one hand >and IBM assembler programs with the other, simultaneously. The programs >worked, too. >Laura Creighton aw, c'mon, IBM assembler isn't that hard! all you need to be is psychic and memorize the principles of operation. :-). now english prose, well if you're psychic, it isn't hard at all. 8-). Herb Chong... I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble.... (IBM assembler hacker)
nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather) (03/19/85)
> I am right handed, but left eyed. This means that when I look through > a camera lens, telescope, peephole, etc, I use my left eye. I don't > know if this is a strong physical preference or just a habit I developed > from childhood by random choice. > > Mark I am also right-handed and left-eyed, and it wasn't random chance -- I am a severe myopic [e.g. certified blind by US Navy] and my left eye is about twice as good as my right (officially 1/20 vs 1/40). Until contact lenses came along I couldn't even be corrected to 20/20, and they just manage. I never learned to fire a rifle properly because I caught the recoil in the chops, and decided pacifism was easier. As a curious sideline, in response to a bet I learned to throw a baseball left-handed, though I do everything else important with my right hand -- and I can *still* throw a ball farther left-handed, after 38 years of sloth. If this proves anything I fail to see what it is. -- Ed Nather Astronony Dept, U of Texas @ Austin {allegra,ihnp4}!{noao,ut-sally}!utastro!nather
nyssa@abnji.UUCP (nyssa of traken) (03/19/85)
I'd like to see a left handed snake.
--
James C Armstrong, Jnr. { ihnp4 || allegra || mcnc || cbosgb } !abnji!jca
Send a pound to Auntie Beeb before she slits her throat!john@x.UUCP (John Woods) (03/25/85)
> I know someone who was capable of writing english prose with one hand > and IBM assembler programs with the other, simultaneously. I'm sure he wrote the assembly with the left hand! :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) Now, if only there were more computer programmers capable of writing English prose with either hand.... -- John Woods, Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA, (617) 626-1101 ...!decvax!frog!john, ...!mit-eddie!jfw, jfw%mit-ccc@MIT-XX.ARPA
ogasawar@noscvax.UUCP (Todd H. Ogasawara) (04/03/85)
> In article <224@vaxwaller.UUCP> bob@vaxwaller.UUCP (Bob Palin) writes: > >I believe that the right/left > >handedness of the animals was tested by there eye preference but I'm not > >sure that is correct - does eye preference relate to manual preference. When I was an undergrad many moons ago my senior thesis dealt with hemispheric dominance. As I recall, eye and hand preference did not have a significant correlation. I also recall that one of the better "quick and dirty" tests for handedness was "which hand do you hold a hammer in when driving a nail into a piece of wood?" Lastly, the journal "Cortex" was still publishing a lot of dominance research last time I looked...todd Todd Ogasawara, Computer Sciences Corp. NOSC-Hawaii Laboratories UUCPmail: {akgua,allegra,decvax,ihnp4,ucbvax}!sdcsvax!noscvax!ogasawar MILNET: OGASAWAR@NOSC